Wedding Pictures!

The photographer posted a few pictures on her blog.

Here's the link.

Aren't they just the cutest couple? Beautiful location too.

I'll post some of my own soon.

I'm baaaaack

The big day was Saturday and I managed to survive it. The wedding went off without a hitch. My daughter was beautiful and the ceremony was wonderful. I get choked up just thinking about it. The outdoor setting was lovely and the weather was perfect - about 75 degrees. Food was good and music and dancing was great fun. We got so many complements from everyone on how well we planned and organized the event and I gave all the credit to my daughter.

I hosted a brunch the day after (Sunday) in my newly decorated living room so everyone could watch the newlyweds open their gifts. Weather was again magnificent. I took them to the airport on Monday where they flew off to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Whew! I'm exhausted. I'm just getting my house back in order. We still have one guest (grandpa from North Dakota) and he'll stick around until Thursday. There are some odds and ends to tie up (like return vases, bowls etc to florist), but otherwise I'm starting to feel halfway normal.

Lots of pictures were taken but I don't have any right now but I will soon.

I don't know how I did it but I managed to read some good books in my "spare" time (especially when I woke up at 5:00 AM and couldn't go back to sleep - this happened pretty much every day). Here's my list:

Tempted by Megan Hart (B+)
Strangers in Death by J. D. Robb (B+)
Pursuit by Elizabeth Jennings (B)
Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas (A-)
Tall Tales & Wedding Veils by Jane Graves (B+)
Moonstruck by Susan Grant (A-)
Fire & Ice by Anne Stuart (B)

I hope to get into the swing of writing reviews soon. Let me know if you have a request.

What's been happening in the romance reading world? Any new really good books out I should check out?

The Dress

Another wedding update.... I bought a dress! I posted a picture of it here (it's dress #1) but I wasn't crazy about the color selections that Nordstrom online carried. So I kept searching and found the exact same dress at Macy's online in the exact color I wanted (aquamarine).

It's a silk halter dress by Maggy London which leaves my back partially bare. I may chicken out and try to find some kind of jacket or sweater to wear over it. Also I'll need to go buy a halter bra since my boobs aren't quite as perky as they should be (never have been even when I was a young thing). Also need shoes.... *sigh*.... the shopping continues....

What I have been doing in my spare time

Hi, I'm still alive.

In my last post I told you I was looking for a new blog template. Well, that set me off on a loooonnnnggg adventure in blogland. I found hundreds of free blogger templates but none of them were exactly right. Too dark, too narrow, only two columns, etc. Somewhere along the way I came up with the brilliant (?) idea of writing my own template. My revised plan was to find a simple template with the basic structure I wanted and revise the code to add a custom header and change fonts and colors.

After much searching I found a simple template that had three columns and was easy to widen. All of the templates out there required some math to widen each element of the blog structure (i.e., outer-wrapper, header, content-wrapper, sidebar-wrapper, etc.) and the more I delved into it the more complicated things got with all attributes that needed adjusting. But this new simple template only required adjusting one attribute. The rest of the elements had widths in percentages thereby keeping everything correctly proportioned automatically. Okay, I won't bore you with more technical details.

Anyway with this new template, I can swap out the header whenever I get the urge for change (which is often) to overhaul the look of my blog without a completely new template. I also discovered something else.... I really enjoy coding. I found several very helpful websites on learning how to create and change template CSS and XML code. I confess, I'm a geek. I got my degree in computer science about 10 years ago and loved computer programming. But since I test software now I get no time to write code.

My only complaint about my new template is that the two sidebar columns are both on the right side of the main post column, but one website with blogging tips says that having your posts on the left makes your blog much more 'searchable' by search engine robots.

So I have the template mostly tweaked with a pretty header and I will publish tomorrow.

Blogger Update News:
Scheduled post publishing has now been implemented in Blogger. Woohoo! I have been using this feature through Blogger in draft and it's really cool. You can publish a post for a future date and it will be published when that date arrives. This is great if you want to post while you are on vacation or can't get access to a computer. You can get a bunch of posts completed and pick the date in the future that you want them published.

Wedding Update: Last Saturday was the bridal shower! Very fun. I have pictures that I haven't downloaded. Must go look for my camera. I helped Angie finish stuffing wedding invitations in envelopes and putting on stamps. We are already getting the RSVP cards back. I still have to finish the favors. Time is running out.

Reading now: I got an ARC for a hot new book and it's good so far. I know lots of you get ARCs all the time, but I rarely get them so I'm excited.

My shopping day

I had a great day today. Took the day off of work to go shopping for a MOB dress. I started the day by weighing in at Weight Watchers. I'm down 20.8 lbs. and have reached my goal. So I set off for Nordstrom in Bellevue Square Mall (which is enormous) and started in the Special Occasion dresses section and wandered all over until I reached the designer dresses in the back corner. The sales lady tries to help me out and she is coming up with zip that appealed to me.

Then she pulled out this dress that was exactly the style and fabric I wanted but the color was all wrong (swirls of pink and purple ... ). But I thought, what the hey.

So she looks me up and down and says "Size 6?"

I'm thinking "WTF, no way" but I say "uhhhhh, no, maybe 8 or 10"

She says "No, you're a size 6."

How do sales ladies do that? I think there is some serious size inflation going on with today's dress makers. Anyway, I try the dress on (it fits perfectly and I look pretty good) but the color is still wrong. I look at the price tag. $895 !!!! Uh, no. N.O. No, no, no. The most expensive dress I have ever tried on. Well, that was fun. Needless to say I didn't buy it and I didn't find anything else in the store I liked. But that's OK. It was fun shopping. I will buy something online.

I also stopped at the used bookstore but I didn't buy any books. Go figure :) I did buy some used DVDs though. Since it was a beautiful sunny warm day, I bought an ice cream and sat and read in the little outdoor courtyard.

I also stopped at Seattle Lighting and looked at light fixtures. Nothing appealed to me.

Bob has been wanting a hot air popcorn popper so on a whim I stopped at Fred Meyer and bought him one.

I did order something online...new Levolor Wood Blinds for our bedroom window. They were 25% off so I was happy.

Reading now: An oldie I heard about somewhere (probably AAR RtR board)... The Same Last Name by Kathleen Gilles Seidel (copyright 1983)
I love the heroine who is a forest ranger but hero is kinda an idiot. I like Seidel's writing style though. Almost to the end (on page 177 of 255 pages) so we'll see if the hero redeems himself.

Wedding Update: MOB dress

Woohoo, just got back from my Weight Watcher meeting and I lost 2 lbs. this week (which included Easter). I was pretty amazed because I was expecting that I had gained weight because of Easter breakfast and dinner. Although I didn't eat any candy, I did have the lasagne, garlic bread, salad, and dessert. In small portions... that must have done the trick.

I had my checkbook out to write a check for the $12 meeting fee and they told me I had made my goal!!!! So no checkee for mee :)

So now I can go buy my MOB dress. I have done a little shopping online at nordstrom.com and I saw a few I liked. I really liked the grecian style with a high waist. Now I find out the MOG bought that exact type of dress. GRRR.

I'm very picky about what I want and don't want:

No spaghetti straps
No satin (if possible)
Length: Short (outdoor wedding - don't want dress to drag in the grass)
Color: some shade of blue or turquoise (complementary color for red) - not too dark
Fabric preference: chiffon
Style: Grecian or A-line (compliments pear shape - yeah, I've got the hips to spare)

All but one of these dresses from Nordstrom, the other one from J. Crew. Okay, so let's go shopping ladies....

Dress #1
Not sure about the halter. My bare back might gross people out :)

Dress #2
I love this color on me. But I'm not sure about the bow on the side. This is a fake wrap dress style.












Dress #3
I like the color and hemline is unusual.



Dress #4
I love the style of this one but the color is too dark I think. I am really trying to find some color more like the others shown here.









Dress #5
Love the color (periwinkle blue) but satin shows every bulge.


Dress #6
I love everything about this dress except the color. If it came in some shade of blue, I would be done shopping. GRRRRRRR!




Dress #7
Love the style and color but again, don't like satin. Can you see her little belly bulge? Well, I have an even bigger one.







Dress #8

This one is from J. Crew and has definite possibilities. Color (aquamarine), style (grecian a-line), and fabric (chiffon) are perfect. But it's only available online so I can't try it on. I may be ordering this one. I can always return it if I have to.





OK, that's what I have so far. I haven't actually tried anything on. I really need to take a day off of work and go shopping at Bellevue Square Mall.

I'll let you know what I come up with.

Wedding Update: Mother of the bride dress

No, I haven't bought it yet. I need to lose at least 10 pounds before I go shopping... just started Weight Watchers again this week. I hope I can stick to it. "One day at a time" I tell myself.

Anyway, I found a picture of a dress that I kinda like but I'd want it in a different color. If you ignore the fake boobs on this woman, the dress looks similar to what I'm looking for. Although I'd want my boobs covered up a bit more. Not appropriate for MOB to look too slutty :).

Here's the link.

The problem now is finding something like this.

Feedback is welcome.

Wedding Update: The Wedding Gown

Daughter (OK... I'll tell you... it's Angie) and I (and one of her bridesmaids) went bridal gown shopping last Saturday. Did you know you need an Appointment to shop for a wedding gown? And I can see why. It takes one or two people to get you into and out of the gown.

1) Unzip the gown bag
2) Unhook from the hanger
3) Lift out the gown (weighs at least 20 pounds - it seems anyway)
4) Unhook or unzip the dress
5) Find the opening in the bottom to slip over her head (through all the layers of tulle and netting - we had some funny moments with this when she got stuck a few times)
6) Slide over her head
7) Fasten the back
8) Clip together the excess fabric to make it look fit in the front (dresses are usually a couple sizes large so anyone can try them on)
9) Pickup the train so she can walk to the wall of mirrors to get a good look all the way around.
10) When she's done admiring it (oh, she looked so beautiful each time I wanted to cry)
11) Get the dress off of her
12) Get the dress back on the hanger and into the bag.

Whew! I was exhausted physically and emotionally after 3 hours of this.

She brought her scrapbook of pictures of dresses that she had been cutting out of magazines to give the shops an idea of what she was looking for. On Saturday she tried on a couple dozen dresses and came very close to finding what she wanted. She also went shopping on Sunday with her future MIL and SIL. And she found The Dress. She called me immediately because she didn't want me to be mad that she found the dress without me. I was happy as long as she was happy. We are going back tonight after work so she can show me the dress. I can hardly wait. She showed me a picture online but I forgot to get the link so I will post it as soon as I have it. Stayed tuned.

UPDATE: Here it is! Shhhh, I'm sworn to secrecy and I'm not supposed to share these pictures with anyone but I figure you all won't tell on me.




Description: Deep V-neckline gown with spaghetti straps. Swarovski crystal beading and Robison-Anton platinum embroidery accented at empire waistline and hemline. Back waist gathers to create the look of a full train.

Fabric: Taffeta

Color: Ivory

Wedding Update: The Engagement Party

I'm pooped. We had the engagement party today for my daughter and her fiance. My family (two sisters, brother and all their spouses, my dad and his girlfriend, my son and his girlfriend, and assorted nephews) and her future husband's family (mom and sister). Yesterday was a madhouse for me. Went to the Saturday Market to get fresh flower (large bouquet for $7), Costco (bought baby back ribs and boneless chicken thighs, beer, paper plates and a bunch of other crap), grocery store, and party store for balloons and more party crap. Then did laundry and cleaned up all the clutter. Thank God I have a housekeeper (she was here last Tuesday).

Our neighbor Jim who's a wonderful cook offered to smoke the ribs. I marinated the chicken overnight then cooked them for an hour in the oven before Bob popped them on the barbecue to get that grilled flavor. Laurel (mother of the groom) brought a cake from Costco (white cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate frosting).

Bob got all my plants watered, cleaned out the little fountain and got it running and put out all the lawn chairs and tables, and filled the coolers with ice, beer, pop, water, snapple, and other assorted drinks.

Everything went well. The weather was fabulous but it got a little hot out on the deck so lots of people moved out under the pergola and in the lawn where it was nice and shaddy. The food was wonderful and most of my family behaved themselves. I had one glass of wine and now I'm about ready to collapse. Wine always makes me want to take a nap. Bob has gone to bed and I should hit the sack soon.

Amazingly I managed to finish a book which is hard to believe since I feel like I haven't sat still all weekend. Broken by Megan Hart. And it was WONDERFUL. Very HOT with an emotionally draining story. Written in first person, Broken deals with some moral issues and I found the heroine's inner dialogue compelling. But some of her emotions cut right to the heart and I had to admit I found my self crying a few times. I liked how she never tried to make excuses for her actions. I highly recommmed.

Wedding update #2

Well, the date is set (July 19, 2008) and a few plans are in progress, but Daughter is looking for a full time job (human resourses - entry level) so has been putting all her energies into job hunting and doesn't have much time for wedding planning.

She decided to give out little jars of homemade strawberry jam as the wedding favor. Wow, what a lot of work that was! I tried to warn her but I'm trying not to be a bossy mother-of-the-bride so I want to be supportive and helpful where I can. It's hard for me to keep my mouth shut, believe me. :)

One Saturday in June we drove over to Remlinger Farms in Carnation and bought 6 giant flats of strawberries that were just picked out of their fields. They were fabulous - dark red, juicy and sweet. Don't even need sugar on them. Not like those hard sour strawberries you get in the store. Have you ever made 200 (4-oz) jars of jam? You need about 30 pounds of sugar and it takes TWELVE batches. We were at it until around midnight. The jam turned out wonderful but now she wants to cut out red-checked fabrics circles to put on the lid and tie with a ribbon. We bought the fabric and ribbon last weekend but I'm too exhausted to think about cutting out 200 circles with pinking shears. We decided to enlist the aid of her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Probably wait till fall to get it finished. Wait I think I have a picture of of making jam somewhere..... here it is (Bob cut off our heads). This was taken at about midnight. Warning: don't blow up that picture, the bags under my eyes will scare you. Daughter is cute... me not so much.




Here's finished product:



Only 199 more circles to cut out!

She also made arrangements for the wedding cake. Her husband-to-be owns a marshal arts studio and one of his students does wedding cakes and offered to do her cake in exchange for free lessons. That saves Daughter about $800 in her budget. Woohoo! I didn't see the lady's cake photos but Daughter said they were beautiful.

Next weekend I'm having an Engagement Party to introduce the two families to each other. A backyard barbeque. It better not rain! We have had two weeks of rain and my beautiful baskets and pots of flowers look waterlogged. There will be about 20 people and I'm providing all the food and drinks. Which reminds me I better get off my duff away from the computer and get to Costco and the grocery store. Plus I have cleaning to do. *sigh* I'm tired already just thinking about it.

Odds and ends

Life has been getting away from me lately so I haven't been blogging lately. I've been swept up in wedding plans for Daughter and I'm happy to report she has decided on a date and place for the wedding. It's going to be July of 2008 and will be an outdoor wedding at Springhill Farms in Auburn. It's spectacularly beautiful and their pictures on their website don't do it justice.

Can you imagine an outdoor wedding in Seattle? For those of you who don't know, we get rain here and it's very unpredictable. The third week in July is historically the driest time of the year, but last year we had rain. So you can't count on dry weather. But this place she found has a contingency plan with tents that they can quickly set up in case of rain.

Daughter's future MIL is contributing quite a bit of money for the wedding and with our contribution it should be a nice, but not extravagant wedding. Now I just need to lose 20 lbs. before next July. *sigh*

Work sucks. We had a major reorganization and it's total chaos and several people have quit. It was our VP's dumbass idea and it's a disaster. I'd like to quit but I'm to lazy to look around. One of the developers pissed me off yesterday and I had to take a walk around the building before I could reply calmly to his email. I politely told him he was full of crap. And my manager backed me up.

I had a couple crowns worked on today and my gums are SORE. Don't you hate the dentist? Well, mine is a nice guy but I still hate it.

Reading now: I was in a bit of a reading slump for a while but I just started Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair. I'm only on page 25 and struggling a little with the world building. Too many strange names and places and organizations, but I'm figuring it out slowly and I'm liking it. I just looked .... 525 pages! It's going to take me a while to finish this one. What is everyone else reading?